Lake Bluff Losing Longtime Top Cop

Police Chief Led Modernization Of Small Force

As a teenager growing up in Lake Bluff, Fred Day would head down to the police station after school to ride with one of four patrol officers in the department's only squad car.

It was during these sometimes eventful, often tedious ride-alongs that Day, who can't recall a time when he didn't want to be a cop, learned what a police officer should not do.

"I rode with bad cops," Day said candidly of the uniformed men he saw take bribes and fix tickets. "I said to myself, `I won't do that when I'm a police officer.'"

Day, 59, will retire April 20 from the Lake Bluff Police Department after 37 years, 22 as its chief. In that time he never lost sight of his vow.

"I was never a bad cop," Day said. "I never took a buck or had anyone try to buy a favor. I'm walking away clean."

Day started with the department in 1964 after three years as an Army paramedic. The agency then had five full-time officers and one squad car to serve a population of 3,000.

In his two decades as Lake Bluff's police chief, although the village has barely doubled in population, the department has grown to 15 officers and five squad cars.

As recently as 10 years ago, when the department was at Village Hall, there were no holding cells and suspects arrested after hours had to be handcuffed to a sewer pipe until they could be transported to the county jail, Day said.

The department's new headquarters and squad cars are fully computerized and state-of-the-art.

From the beginning of his tenure, Day disdained the stereotypes of the small-town police department as provincial.

"I wanted the department to be recognized as an agency that's as good or better than most," Day said. "It isn't enough to say you do things right. You have to establish a standard of excellence."

In 1999 the Lake Bluff police force became only the second department in Lake County to achieve national accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies. Formed in 1979 by law-enforcement groups, the commission administers a voluntary program that allows police agencies to comply with established criteria for excellence in policing.

While neighboring departments, including North Chicago and Highland Park, have struggled with image problems, Day is proud of the fact that during his tenure there has not been even a whiff of controversy.

"No one has ever filed suit against us," Day said, adding that residents' complaints are few and far between.

"When one of my officers walks away from a [resident's] front door, that person should say, `That police officer was really competent,'" Day said.

For any police chief to survive as long as Day has in one department, the art of compromise is a prerequisite, particularly when dealing with a revolving door of village and county officials.

"When I started as a teacher in the [school] district 33 years ago, Fred was a sergeant," O'Hara said. "With his hands-on style he personalized the department and made it accessible. He is both police chief and a member of the community.

"He has really shown the department as a good neighbor: It's there when you need it, but not when you don't, if you know what I mean."

Assistant Lake County State's Atty. Matthew Chancey agreed.

"What you notice about the department, other than that its officers are a professional, courteous bunch, is that it maintains a high profile in the community without being intrusive," said Chancey, who, as chief of felony review, interacts daily with police officers from all over the county.

"Every Sunday evening during the summer, for example, the village holds an outdoor concert in the park," Chancey said. "Unlike in [other municipalities], you are never aware of the presence of uniformed officers."

After years of living and breathing law enforcement, Day, who lives in Knollwood with his wife, Judy, is ready to retire.

"I've worked since I was in 7th grade," Day said.

He took up beekeeping several years ago and harvests about 500 pounds of honey annually from 15 hives. He refuses to sell it and gives it away to friends.

Of his hobby, he said: "It's quiet, tranquil, and there are no phones."